Ned Erickson: UPDATE Week of June 16

what the doctor ordered

Just off a week of vacation - boy, did I need it! There were lots of unexpected surprises and several new memories that were made. (Below there are pictures and a blog I wrote about our trip)

RECRUITMENT!

Who is missing?

In this case - Hootie! I confess, at first I didn't realize she was missing either. But what if it wasn't the case? What if Hootie never heard about the Fellows? What a loss that would have been!

We are still searching for a few more Fellows to fill out our cohort for the year.

YOU might know who that Fellow is! Two years ago, Dudley Bell ran into Kate Donahoo at his daughter's graduation party and was the one who introduced her to the Fellows.

MAYBE YOU are that critical connection.

PAUSE RIGHT NOW and think of TWO PEOPLE you think would make great Fellows. Then, reach out to them today. Let's fill this class! What do you say?

MOJI

This week 6 guys and 4 members of a support team will be going on an adventure for a great cause.

Moji Coffee, located at 690 N. Trade St. is celebrating their GRAND OPENING this weekend.

If you don't know, Moji is a new store that employs men and women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I am confident that this spot will become a jewel for our downtown.

But not enough people know about it. So we are going to fix this. WE ARE GOING TO DO A CRAZY RUN

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND DONATE

There will be FUN and FESTIVITIES all weekend.

PARTICULARLY from 2-4pm on SUNDAY. The runners will be showing up at 3pm.

If you want you can run the last bit with us!

CURRENT NEWS

Incoming Fellows Hannah Blaine and Greg McClinton are already in town for the summer. Let me know if you are interested in connecting with them.

NEEDS

Thanks again for your support.

We are going to be increasing our budget next year in order to support a new staff person. So if you have been waiting for a time to give - now is the time!

NOTE THE CHANGE!

Send checks to

Winston-Salem Fellows

PO BOX 20514

Winston-Salem, NC 27120

Or give online

at wsfellows.com/give

ALSO. The Fellows needs a new office! For the last ten years, I have been squatting on the second floor of the Young Life House at 851 W. 5th St. It has been an incredible gig to be with great people in a great spot. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Young Life and I have been evicted! We both need offices, frankly. So if you have any ideas let me know!

PHOTOS AND BLOG FROM THE WEEK

Christmas card potential what do you think?

Hey World.

You are probably not going to see this on most people’s instagrams and probably not ours either.

We are down here on vacation. It’s an annual tradition. We come down to beautiful Mexico and spend a week at the beach, swimming and snorkeling and paddle and boogie boarding and playing cards and reading books. You know the deal. We have been doing the same thing for this is our tenth year.

This year, Mexico and all the eastern coasts of Central America including the many islands of the Caribbean and even Florida have been hit by this invasion of seaweed.

If you are traveling to this part of the world I would recommend calling ahead.

Where we are it is apocalyptic. The smell is part rotten sea stench and sulphur part foot fungus. And there is no swimming happening. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement.

But it is an experience! We will be talking about this year’s vacation for years, decades to come. We are making some classic memories. And it has forced us to be more adventurous and creative.

Yesterday we explored this underground swimming hole that was one of the all time coolest things I’ve ever done.

So what is the lesson here?

Attitude isn’t everything. But it is a lot. There is a lot to say for making lemonade.

Also. My heart goes out to the people in the Caribbean whose livelihoods depend on vacationers. I hope they can dig themselves out. And if this is due to climate change, we’ve got to do something. It is sad to see paradise destroyed by Mother Nature and a little help from us humans. We do not want this future.

As for Instagram. What do you do? Do you send photos that could destroy an economy? Do you document the laughter of which there is plenty? Is there a way to blend the joy and the disappointment?

I guess that is what this post is trying to accomplish.

With love from paradise and hells gate.